Samsung says its foldable phone will be a tablet you can put in your pocket

Samsung's long-rumored foldable phone still hasn't shown up, but its mobile chief offered one compelling case for a product that could easily be written off as a gimmick.

D.J. Koh, CEO of Samsung's mobile business, said you'll be able to use the device as a tablet with multitasking capability before being able to fold it up into a more portable phone.

"When we deliver a foldable phone, it has to be really meaningful to our customer," Koh said in an interview at the sidelines of the Samsung GalaxyA9 launch. "If the user experience is not up to my standard, I don't want to deliver those kind of products."

Samsung has been chasing the holy grail of a foldable phone since it teased one at CES 2013 by showing off a flexible OLED display. Koh confirmed last month that Samsung's upcoming device will be launched this year and could debut as early as next month at Samsung's Developer Conference. The folding capability would mark a major advance in smartphones, which have stagnated with fewer innovations.

The larger screen is important, Koh said. When Samsung first released the original Galaxy Note, he said, competitors called its device dead on arrival. Now, after generations of Notes phones, you see larger devices like the iPhone XS Max and the Pixel 3 XL, proving that consumers want bigger screens. A foldable phone would let screen sizes extend beyond 6.5 inches.

"Possibly when we start selling the foldable phone, it may be a niche market, but definitely, it will expand," Koh said. "I'm positive that we do need a foldable phone."